


The Forgotten Backcourt

by nschow



Category: Men's Basketball RPF
Genre: Basketball, Champions, Championship, Love, M/M, NBA, Romance, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, bxb - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nschow/pseuds/nschow
Summary: One was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe other was born in Compton, CaliforniaEach had very different personalitiesBoth had one loveBasketballFate brought them to Toronto, CanadaAnd they did everything togetherThen in one momentBoth were separated_______________originally published on wattpad - nschow
Relationships: DeMar DeRozan/Kyle Lowry
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

One was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The other was born in Compton, California 

Each had very different personalities

Came from very different lives 

Different families 

Both had one love

Basketball

One was drafted in 2006, first - round pick, 24th overall

The other was drafted in 2009, first - round pick, 9th overall

One was often criticized. 

"Too small"

"Not fast enough"

"Not athletic enough" 

"Uncoachable"

While one was drafted on to the only non - American team in the NBA

A significant date came around 

On July 11, 2012

Fate brought them both to Toronto, Canada

But 

They didn't talk 

They didn't feel the need too

One thought he was going to be out of there soon

And for 2 years 

They only saw each other was strictly teammates, nothing more, nothing less

During the 2014 season

One had the chance to bring this team victory 

The game was 104 - 103

With this shot, they could win

But 

That didn't happen 

He lay on the ground, hands over his head

Mad

Sad

Frustrated 

Disappointed 

Tears spilled from his eyes

He let his team down 

He let these fans down 

He let this city down

He let this country down

He let himself down

The other ran over to him 

Leaned over 

And said

"If anybody is taking that shot, 

I'm living and dying with you taking that shot, 

or trying to attempt to get that shot off."

Because that was the type of bond they had

After that

That moment

They knew

They were given the keys to the franchise

To be the leaders 

To be the face of the franchise 

To be that guy

And they did

Lead this franchise to many playoff runs

(The most memorable one,

A franchise record of 59 wins & 23 loses)

They made this franchise 

The franchise that was disrespected 

Underrated 

Overlooked

A playoff contender 

A franchise worth coming too

A team worth watching 

They turned it around 

Then in one moment 

After everything that had happened

After everything they have been through

After all they had done

Together 

Both were separated


	2. The Trade

_"It hurts when_   
_The person_   
_Who made you_   
_Feel so important_   
_And special_   
_Yesterday_   
_Makes you feel_   
_So unwanted_   
_Today."_

* * *

  
"C'mon, just one more round!"

"No, I'm tired."

"No, you just afraid that I will kick your ass. Again."

"Shut up short stuff."

"Hey! I'm not that short!"

"Okay buddy."

"But I'm not!"

DeMar DeRozan playfully rolled his eyes. It was a calm July night in Toronto, and he decided to come to the OVO Athletic Centre to shoot around because why not, but was interrupted by his best friend, Kyle Lowry. They ended up doing a scrimmage, and instead of staying there for an hour, they ended up staying there till 10 at night, and DeMar was getting tired.

Ignoring Kyles protests, he walked to the bench, and sat down, taking a big gulp of his Gatorade. Kyle came and sat down beside him, crossing his arms over his chest, pouting.

DeMar looked at him, and started laughing.

"What?" Kyle said scowling

"Nothing." DeMar smirked and continued to drink the Gatorade, still chuckling to himself.

"Really Deebo? I know your laughing at me. I'm not dumb."

"Really? That's a first." DeMar fired back and starting laughing again at Kyles face.

"Hey!" Kyle retaliated by playfully slapping his arm.

"Okay okay, you just looked so stupid pouting like that." chuckled DeMar.

Kyle made a fake sad face. "Wow. I'm so hurt." Then started laughing. "Okay so if you and you old ass don't wanna play anymore, I guess I will play by myself."

"Hey! I'm not that old! Plus your older than me!" DeMar playfully shot back.

"Whatever. You look and act much older then me." And with that, Kyle ran back on to the court, and started shooting around.

DeMar just sat there and watched Kyle shoot. The whole time he watched him, he began to study Kyle. He noticed how strong and muscular he was, despite his height. Kyle was always criticized for being "too fat", but in DeMar's eyes, he didn't see it. He knew that Kyle was pretty insecure of himself (DeMar overheard him talking to himself in the locker room one day), but Kyle didn't know that. DeMar looked and studied Kyles face. He had such a baby face. That's why people often forget that Kyles older. Plus Kyle acts like he's 5 sometimes. DeMar chuckled at that thought. But what DeMar loved about Kyle was his smile, that seemed like it stretched ear to ear, and his bubbly personality.

DeMar got butterflies in his stomach as he thought about Kyle. He knew, deep down that he had a tiny crush the point guard. Scratch that, he had a major crush. He always cringed at being called Kyles "best friend". He wanted to be more than that. But he just left it. Because he didn't want to make things awkward between them.

"DeMar."

"Earth to DeMar."

DeMar snapped back to reality. He looked up to see Kyle staring at him, with a confused look on his face. "You good Deebo?"

"Yea, sorry, um, I was just, um, thinking, yea." DeMar stammered, mentally scolding himself for being caught of guard like that.

"You sure?" Kyle said, worry covering his face.

"Yea yea, don't worry." DeMar said, standing up to go pack his stuff up.

With his back facing Kyle, he packed up his water bottle, deodorant, changed his shoes, threw in his sweater, and check his phone, plugging his earbuds in.

After a somewhat awkward silence, he turned to Kyle, who was finished packing up and was currently trying to call someone.

"Oh? Okay. Yea don't worry, okay yea. Talk to you later, bye."

"What's up?" asked DeMar, throwing his hood over his head.

"My driver can't come to pick me up." Kyle said, frowning.

"Aye, it's fine. I can give you a ride."

"Thanks Deebo." Kyle said, flashing his signature Lowry smile, that gave DeMar butterflies again.

DeMar cleared his throat. "Okay let's head out then."

It was a calm drive to Kyles house. The whole way, Kyle wouldn't stop talking and make jokes, causing DeMar to laugh. They finally made it to Kyles house (after he distracted DeMar, causing him to keep going to wrong way).

"Thanks again Deebo!" Kyle said, getting out of the car.

"Anytime KLow." DeMar replied, smiling.

"FaceTime tomorrow morning?"

"Aiight, see you tomorrow!"

DeMar watched Kyle jog up the stairs. Kyle turned around and waved, making DeMar smile and wave back. He watched him head inside, then drove off.

When DeMar got home, he went straight to take a shower. He was so exhausted. First from playing basketball for like a million hours, then from trying to contain his emotions around Kyle.

"Damn you Lowry." DeMar muttered, rummaging through his clothes to find something to change into. "Getting in my head and messin' me up."

He sighed, and got into bed, hoping that one day he might have a chance with Kyle Lowry.

* * *

  
*Ring! Ring!*

*Buzz! Buzz*

DeMar groggily opened his eyes, as he struggles to get out of his sleepy state to figure out what the hell do people want. He reach for his phone, blinking at the bright light. His phone buzzed and rang in his hand, a million notifications popping up at once. This really confused him, considering it was only 5 o'clock in the morning. He opened his phone up, and checked his twitter first.

As he opened it, he saw it.

And he just stared.

Eyes wide.

Mouth open.

Heart pounding in his chest.

He couldn't believe it.

It felt like he couldn't breathe.

His chest tightened up.

And his heart just shattered in his chest.

It was announced

The Toronto Raptors

Traded him.  
  



	3. I Need You

_"Stay._   
_No matter_   
_How hard it is_   
_Be with me,_   
_Just stay._   
_I need you."_

* * *

DeMar had read and re-read the same tweet over and over again. He couldn't believe it. He was traded. He was traded for Kawhi Leonard. He was going to San Antonio. Toronto didn't want him.

DeMar felt his anxiety kick in, as he thought about the trade.

Toronto didn't want him

He wasn't good enough

He felt a lump in his throat, and tears started to pool at the corners of his eyes. Then a thought struck his mind. Kyle...

What was he going to tell Kyle? He was his best friend, the had so many memories together, they were so close...

DeMar let the tears fall. He fumbled with his phone as he went to call Kyle. It was hard, because he was having a panic attack. He went to the FaceTime app and called Kyle.

The first time, he didn't pick up.

The second time, still didn't pick up.

_"C'monKyle. Please pick up. I really need you right now..."_

"Hm?"

"Kyle...." DeMar started to say, then trailed off. Kyle was on the screen, eyes blinked rapidly because of the light.

"Deebo? What's up? It's like 5 in the morning." Kyle looked closer to the screen. "DeMar? Why are you crying? Are you okay?"

DeMar just broke down again, struggling to breathe and talk.

"DeMar? Deebo what's wrong? Talk to me." Kyle tried to talk to him, worry covering his face. "DeMar breathe."

DeMar took a couple of deep breathes and looked at Kyle.

"DeMar...?"

"I just got traded."

* * *

DeMar shut his eyes, waiting for Kyles response. He was so scared that Kyle would be like "it's fine" or something like that.

He was also scared to show Kyle how vulnerable he was at this moment.

In their relationship, DeMar always took it upon himself to be the tougher one. To always look out for Kyle (because on the court, Kyle was always the smaller one). But as he opened up about his depression and anxiety, he realized that he didn't always have to be the tougher, or stronger one. And that's what he loves about Kyle. Kyle didn't take advantage of him. He knows what it is like being vulnerable and exposing yourself to someone. Kyle understood him.

"DeMar just stay calm. Focus and breathing. I'm coming over right now." Kyles voice interrupted his thoughts. DeMar nodded his head, and started to focus on breathing.

A little while later he heard the door click open. At first he was confused, who would be entering his house?

Oh right.

Kyle has a key.

He heard rustling and a "god damn it!" Then footsteps came running upstairs. Demar pushes himself out of the bed and swung his legs on the side, standing up, tears still making his vision blurry.

Then his door burst opened.

And was he ever glad to see Kyle.

Kyle ran up the him and engulfed him in a bone crushing hug. DeMar hugged him back, and let out a sob. Kyle gently led him to the floor, where they sat in each other's embrace.

They sat in silence, not knowing what to say to each other, then (not really wanting too but knowing they had to talk) DeMar pulled back.

"What did I do wrong?" Demar asked, a million thoughts and emotions racing through his mind.

"Nothing. You did absolutely nothing wrong." Kyle said, looking at DeMar.

DeMar stared back at Kyle. He noticed that Kyle had tears in his eyes. He also noticed that he trying so hard to keep them back. He could tell.

He looked at Kyle with so many emotions. He wanted to tell him so bad. But he knew this wasn't the time. Instead, he let out a shaky breath, and buried himself back into Kyle. Kyle just wrapped his arms around DeMar, letting him sob.

"What is happening in this trade?" Kyle asked softly.

DeMar sniffled, and brought himself back up so he could look at Kyle.

"Me, Jakob, and a first round pick is being traded for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green"

Kyle looked confused. Then it hit him.

"Wait, your going to the Spurs!?"

DeMar nodded, fresh tears spilling onto his face. He looked at Kyle, who seemed to be struggled yet again to keep it in. He could tell, because Kyle was bitting his lip and not looking at him.

"Kyle?" Kyle looked up.

DeMar looked right back at him. "It's okay to cry too."

Kyle shook his head. "No no, I'm fine. I can be strong for you."

DeMar felt his heart slowly come back together. Kyle was literally the sweetest person he has ever meet. He just sighed, and went back into embracing Kyle.

After a few moments of silence, he looked back, well, down at Kyle, who now had a couple of silent tears flow down his face.

"Kyle?"

Kyle looked at him. "Yes?"

DeMar swallowed. "No matter what happens, we will always be best friends right? We will get through this right? We won't like stop talking and become strangers or anything, right?

Kyle didn't hesitate.

"Of course Deebo. We will still be the best friends. You know our bond will never be broken. Ever."

DeMar breathed out a sigh of relief, and just sat there in peaceful silence, enjoying the presence of Kyle.

His best friend.

"We will get through this. I'm not going anywhere."


	4. This Hurts

_"Sometimes_   
_I feel like_   
_Giving up,_   
_But I just can't,_   
_It isn't_   
_In my blood."_

* * *

DeMar didn't know how long they have been just sitting on the floor, but he had stopped crying and was still shocked. He sighed, and reached for his phone. 7:30 am. He should probably start his day. He looked down, and let out a small smile.

Kyle fell asleep.

He let out a silent chuckle. Of course he fell asleep. He swears, Kyle can fall asleep _anywhere._ He gently got out of Kyle's grasp, and grabbed the pillows of the bed. He gently lifted Kyle's head up, and tucked the pillow under. He stood up, stretched, and went to take a shower.

He walked out to grab some clothes, sneaking a glance at Kyle again, and quickly changing. He grabbed his phone, snuck one more glance at Kyle, and gently shut the door, heading  
downstairs.

* * *

Kyle was confused. He didn't remember his bed being so hard. Or cold. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He looked around confused, then it all came back.

The trade.

This hit Kyle really hard.

His best friend was going to another team, and this team is located so far south from Toronto.

And it sucked.

He let out a shaky sigh, and buried his head in his hands, tears slowly coming back.

Why?

Why did this have to happen?

He remembered having so much faith and trust in the Toronto Raptors organization. In Masai.

And now they had just traded their most loyal player away.

His best friend.

Surely he was used to it by now. People betraying him.

Kyle thought back to when he was younger. His dad never being around. He remembered eagerly waiting for his dad to come pick him up, so they could spend some time together, then feeling the betrayal of him never actually showing up.

He let out another sigh. He was upset. He was also pissed. But he had to stay strong. Strong for his best friend.

DeMar always managed to stay strong for Kyle. Even with his depression and anxiety. Kyle knew he had to stay strong for DeMar now. But it hurt. It hurt so god damn bad.

He let out a sob. Why? He didn't know why he was crying so much or so hard. It wasn't like Demar was dead or anything. But it hurt. A lot. It was like a knife was being stabbed over and over again in his heart. Why?

Because Kyle cares.

And not many people know that.

They think he is a tough guy, with no emotion.

And there might be something else, but he just couldn't quite figure it out.

Kyle has always struggled with identifying his emotions. He has never liked anyone, or dated. All he has known was being betrayed. Let people in, and they will take advantage of you.

But with DeMar it was different. That's why it hurt so bad. But Kyle didn't know what it was.

He had no idea how long he sat there for, but he just felt numb, his tears slowly going away. He needed to stay strong for DeMar. For this team. He thought of Pascal, how Jakob was his best friend, and how they did everything together too. He needed to stay strong for him. For his team. To keep this franchise alive.

He took a deep breath, wiped his tears away, slowly got up, opened the door, and headed downstairs to find DeMar.  
  


* * *

DeMar was in the middle of eating breakfast. He had the tv on, and the only thing that was on was the trade.

The trade this.

The trade that.

And it stung like crazy.

He sighed, and shut the tv off. He kept seeing that tweet. The tweet that was probably going to be cemented in his brain forever. He scrolled to Instagram, to see two posts. One was saying good bye to Jakob, and the other one was saying good bye to him.

And he was not expecting that.

DeMar had always thought he would stay in Toronto for his whole career. He had even said, "I am Toronto." He thought that he and Kyle would stay in Toronto, and retire in Toronto, and win a championship in Toronto.

But that will never happen.

And now, as he was scrolling through Instagram, he saw two more posts.

Both of them were welcoming the two new players.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.

And it hurt. A lot.

DeMar heard footsteps thumping down the stairs. His heart fluttered a bit. Kyle was up. He turned his head to see Kyle yawning, and rubbing his eyes. He plopped him self in the seat across from DeMar and buried his head in his arms. DeMar chuckled at the sight of this.

"You okay KLow?" DeMar asking, laughing at his best friends actions.

"Shhh, still sleeping." Kyle muttered.

DeMar let out a laugh at this. He thought it was pretty cute. He reached over the table to prod Kyle in the head. Kyle's head shot up, and he narrowed his eyes playfully.

"I already said I'm still sleeping." he whined, putting is finger to his lips to shush DeMar. DeMar playfully rolled his eyes, and when Kyle put his head back on the table, he began to prod his head.

"Okay okay DeMar!" Kyle exclaimed, his head suddenly shooting up. He tiredly looked at DeMar. DeMar noticed that his eyes were a little red and puffy. Had he been crying...?

"Kyle?"

"I said I'm still sleeping!"

"No no no, like listen to me, seriously."

Kyle slowly lifted his head, and sat up. "DeMar? You okay?"

DeMar stared right at Kyle. "Kyle, have you been crying upstairs?"

Kyle lowered his head, and refused to meet DeMar's eyes. "No."

"Kyle."

"Okay, maybe. But its so stupid!" Kyle suddenly exclaimed, his eyes closed, and his hands curled into fists. Kyle took a deep breath, and looked at DeMar. "How are you so calm about it anyway?"

DeMar thought about it. "I'm not. I'm just as upset about as you are, but I already cried my eyes out when you fell asleep."

"Oh."

The two sat in silence, just enjoying each other's presence, then Kyle broke that silence.

"What should we do today?"

"Hmm, I don't know." DeMar thought about it. It was going to be his last couple of days in Toronto, so why not make it the best of it? "Wanna just go out? It might take our mind off of the trade."

Kyle jumped up. "Yes! We can go around the city!"

DeMar laughed at his sudden energy, and Kyle's energy was contagious. "Okay then let's go!"

He got up and started heading to the front, when he felt Kyle's hand tapping him.

"What's up?"

"DeMar, I just wanted to check up on you. You sure your okay?" Kyle asked, tilting his head to one side.

DeMar let out a deep breath, and looked Kyle dead in the eye. "I'm okay, I will get over it eventually. But it won't be a fun day out if both of us are crying our hearts out right?"

Kyle nodded. "Yea, I guess so." He titled his head again, and had his "thinking face" on. "You wouldn't mind if I invited the team to spend time with us, right?"

DeMar hesitated. He really wanted to just spend time just with Kyle, but as he looked at him, he realized that a) he can spend as much with Kyle by himself as he wants, and b) he will miss his team too.

"Sure, I don't see why not!"

DeMar smiled as Kyle's face split into a huge grin.

He laughed as Kyle started to call the team, and soon they made plans. They team was going to have one last dinner.

DeMar was extremely grateful for Kyle.

He was so willing to help his teammates out.

And that's what he loved about him.

The trade was something that he could not escape from.

So why not make the best out of a bad situation?

And that was a life lesson

That Kyle had taught him.  
  



	5. Team

_"We push each other_   
_To get better._   
_We could never_   
_Be as good alone_   
_As we are_   
_Together._   
_As a team."  
  
_

* * *

DeMar thought this day couldn't be any better.

Kyle ended up dragging DeMar to all the "touristy" stuff in Toronto. They went to the CN Tower, the ROM and Ripley's Aquarium. Now it was time for the team's dinner that Kyle had  
organized.

Why?

Because that was the type of person that Kyle was.

Kyle really cares about his teammates.

DeMar shook his head, and headed out.

It was a calm drive there. As he looked at all the sights and streets of Toronto, he realized how much he was going to miss this city. He and Jakob are leaving tomorrow. This was is last time to be with this team. These were memories that were going to last forever.

"We're here"

His driver jumped him out of his thoughts. He shook his head, and headed out.

When he entered, they brought him to a private room. Sitting at the table already was Kyle, Serge, Fred, Norman, Pascal, Jakob, OG, Delon, and Jonas. After saying hi to everyone, he sat down at the empty seat next to Kyle.

"Where is everyone?" DeMar asked, looking around.

Kyle shrugged. "Turns out no one can come."

Pascal laughed. "Maybe it's because you told everyone like an hour before."

DeMar looked at Kyle. "I thought you told everyone this morning?"

Kyle looked down sheepishly. "Yeah, but then I kinda forgot too."

Everyone laughed and DeMar just rolled his eyes. Typical Kyle.

The rest of the evening was great. They ended up talking about everything and anything. With lots of laughs and sharing many memories.

"So, are you guys ready to head out tomorrow?" asked Fred.

"Yea, I'm almost done packing." Jakob replied.

"What about you DeMar?"

"Same, almost done."

The team just sat in comfortable silence, eating and once in while checking their phones. Kyle stood up. "I will be right back, going to the washroom."

Everyone nodding their heads, and Kyle left. His phone buzzed on the table, and a message popped up from an unknown number. DeMar was curious, so he opened up Kyles phone, and read the message.

"What are you looking at DeMar?" asked Norman.

"Ouu snooping through Kyles messages I see." Serve smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up." DeMar mumbled, glaring at Serge. He had forgot that he had told Serge. At this point he had forgot about the message too.

"Why? Is it because...." Serge trailed off on purpose, smirking still.

"Okay what's up." Fred asked.

"Yeah, I don't get it." Delon added, confused.

"Wait." Pascal suddenly exclaimed. He stared at DeMar, a smile gracing his face. "Do you..?" He looked at Serge. "Does he...?"

Serge just nodded. DeMar felt his face heat up. He crossed his arms, and gave a death glare to Serge and Pascal.

Serge noticed it, and immediately looked just a bit guilty. "Sorry Deebo. But since your leaving I think it's time to tell him."

"Yessir." Pascal said, a huge smile on his face.

"Okay, do you guys wanna tell us what's going on here?" asked OG.

DeMar looked at Serge. "Just tell them." Demar at this point didn't care. Serge was right. The team might as well know.

"Deebo likes Kyle."

Silence.

DeMar looked around at his friends faces. Jonas was smiling, OG and Delon were in shock, Jakob was looking at DeMar, then back at the door that Kyle had left, and Fred and Norman were just staring at DeMar.

A minute of silence seemed to stretch for hours, until Jonas stood up, arms over his head. "I knew it!"

"Honestly yeah, that wasn't much of a surprise." Fred said, with Norman agreeing with him.

"How?" DeMar was confused. He didn't expect Jonas or Fred or Norman to have known. Or Pascal to have guessed so easily.

Norman shrugged. "It's that way you guys were acting. Have you not seen a those videos of you and Kyle? It was so obvious!"

Now that DeMar thought about it, he realized that Norman was right. There are so many videos of them, running around, teasing each other, just having fun.

Jonas snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you going to tell him?"

DeMar froze. "JV are you crazy! I'm not gonna tell him because I don't want to make things awkward between us!"

Fred opened his mouth to say something, but then was cut off.

"Guys! He's coming!" Pascal cried. He was at the door, checking to see if Kyle was coming.

The team quickly got back to their seats, and started to talk about, well, something that wasn't what they were talking about.

"Sorry guys! People out there recognizes me, and asked for a picture." Kyle said, opening the door.

"Aye, no problem my brother." Serge said.

"Alright, everyone ready to go?" DeMar asked, looking around.

Everyone stood up, and exchanged "goodbyes" and "good lucks" and "call me's". DeMar had a lump in his throat. He was gonna miss this team. He was really gonna miss them.

He was gonna miss Pascal's weird laugh.

He was gonna miss Serge and JV's horrible English.

He was gonna miss OG's blunt humour, and his interesting taste in fashion.

He was gonna miss Delon and Fred's high IQ.

He was gonna miss being Norman's mentor.

He was gonna miss them all.

DeMar sighed, and started to walk down the street, to wait for his driver to come pick him up.

"Deebo! Wait up!"

DeMar turned around, and smiled. Running up to him was Kyle. And boy, was DeMar ever going to miss Kyle.

Kyle came to stand next to him, waiting for his driver. The two just stood there, in a comfortable silence.

"Tomorrow your leaving, right?" Kyle asked softly.

"Yeah.” DeMar swallowed. He turned to Kyle. "Hey Kyle?"

"Yes?"

"FaceTime me tomorrow. I will text you when I get to San Antonio, okay?"

Kyle looked at DeMar. "Okay, and I will FaceTime you everyday. Every single day. If you don't pick up, I will keep calling until you do."

DeMar chuckled. "Okay bossy pants."

Kyle looked at him seriously. "No I'm serious DeMar. We will keep in touch all the time. Promise?"

DeMar nodded. "I promise."

Kyle held out his pinky. "Pinky promise."

DeMar chuckled at this. "Pinky promise." They locked pinky's and shook on it.

DeMar heard a beep, and saw his driver coming. "Here's my ride." He looked at Kyle. "I guess this is goodbye."

Kyle shook his head. "No! Don't you remember our picky promise? Its not goodbye, its see you later."

DeMar smiled, then engulfed Kyle in a big hug. He rested his chin on Kyles head, breathing his scent in. He let go, and hopped in the car. "See you later Lowry."

Kyle smiled. "See you later DeRozan."

DeMar smiled and shut the door. He looked out the window and saw Kyle getting into the car. He smiled sadly, and went on his phone.

He began scrolling through all these videos and pictures of him and Kyle. A tear ran down his cheek.

He thought about what Kyle said.

"It's not goodbye, it's see you later."

He was so lucky to have Kyle in his life.

Now all he has to do

Is keep Kyle.

He learned another life lesson today

And learned

That he didn't have a crush anymore

He liked,

No

He _loved_ Kyle Lowry.


	6. See You Later

_"There are no_   
_Goodbyes for us._   
_Wherever you are_   
_You will always be_   
_In my_   
_Heart."_

* * *

*Beep Beep Beep*

DeMar groggily forced his eyes open. He fumbled around, trying to find his phone. He found it and shut it off.

He rubbed his face and sighed. He's heading to San Antonio today.

And boy was he nervous.

He didn't know why though. It's not like he has never been there before.

Maybe because he is playing for a new team.

Or maybe it's because all he has ever known during his whole entire NBA career is Toronto.

DeMar remembered his draft day. He remembered the excitement of it. The anticipation of when his name would be called.

He remembered his name being called. To go to Toronto.

The only non - American team in the NBA.

He didn't know anything about Toronto, scratch that, he didn't know anything about Canada.

He didn't even have a passport.

All he knew about Canada was that it was cold, had colourful money, used a different metric system, and was cold.

DeMar shook his head, trying to snap himself out of his thoughts. He got up, and went to start his day.

And

His new life.

* * *

Kyle was in bed, tossing and turning. He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about DeMar, and him leaving. Sighing, he looked at the clock.

5:15 am

He groaned, and rolled over. DeMar's flight is in 4 hours.

He groaned again. He was wide awake. He slowly sat up, and reached for his phone. Opening it, he realized he got a message last night. But it was funny, because he never opened his phone since he left the restaurant.

It was from a random number.

Usually he would just ignore it.

But for some reason he didn't.

Curious, he read the message.

“Hey Kyle.

I know your mad

I know your best friend just got traded

But let's go out there and do something special.

Kawhi.“

Kyle read the message again. Again and again. He realized that Kawhi was texting him because he wanted to win.

Kawhi wanted to bring a championship to Toronto.

_“Lets go out there and do something special.“_

Kawhi was right.

Kyle was mad

He was pissed.

But he wanted to prove to Toronto

Prove to the NBA

Prove to himself

That he can do it.

Feeling motivated, he jumped out of bed to start his day.

_"Okay, this year we might have a chance to win. We can do this! We got Kawhi and Danny...."_ he thought, then immediately felt guilty.

What about DeMar?

He and DeMar always talked about bringing a championship to Toronto.

To Canada.

They would always argue who would win the Finals MVP.

That was their dream.

But now it would never come true.

Kyle sighed, and slumped back down on his bed. He started to remember all of those times when he and DeMar would just fool around in court. Constantly bugging each other in interviews, teasing each other, and just having fun.

And it was.

And the more Kyle thought about all of this.

He started to think about how he feels.

He has been thinking for a long time. He can't help it.

He has been feeling like this for a long time now.

And now he understands.

and whispered

"I think I'm in love with my best friend."

* * *

DeMar made it to the airport. Now he was just waiting for the plane.

It was a private jet, but it just had to get ready for him.

He let out a deep breath, and checked his phone. No texts from Kyle.

DeMar wondered why Kyle hasn't texted him. Maybe Kyle thought he was gonna text him? But DeMar didn't wanna seem too bothersome or anything...

He slapped his head. Why was he thinking like this? He didn't care if Kyle thought he was bothersome.

But then, he guessed he did.

He sighed, sitting down on the terminal seats.

He scrolled through his Instagram. As he was scrolling, he a video caught his eye. It was an interview. Wasn't sure if it was a post game or a pre game one.

It was him and Kyle.

He smiled watching the video.

_"Yea I'm like Neo now."_

He cringed a bit hearing himself talk, then turned his attention to Kyle.

Kyle was laughing on screen, then slapped his hand on the table, and put his head on his arm. DeMar couldn't help but chuckle at this.

_"That was good."_

DeMar smiled again. It was always so easy to get Kyle to smile and laugh.

On-screen Kyle sat up again and took a deep breath as he was trying to calm himself down.

_"That's Morpheus."_

DeMar was gonna miss this. He was gonna miss doing interviews like this with Kyle. He sighed again, shutting his phone off and looking out the window. He saw the plane come.

His agent came up to him. "Just gotta wait like 20 more minutes. They gotta load all you stuff in it still."

"Alright thanks."

DeMar watched his agent walk away. He turned to watch the workers start loading his stuff on. He sighed again, thinking of Kyle...

"Deebo?"

He was so into his thoughts, that he was imagining Kyles voice.

"DeMar!"

DeMar shook his head. He must be imagining it!

"DeMar you old ass! You going deaf?"

DeMar looked up, and saw Kyle standing there, with a huge smile on his face. DeMar wasted no time getting up and running towards him, engulfing him a hug. He placed his chin on his head, and breathed in his scent. He felt Kyle breath on his chest.

"DeMar? Can't breathe!" he heard a mumble coming from his chest.

"Oh really?" DeMar smirked. He hugged him tighter and wouldn't let go.

"DeMar!"

"Okay okay!" DeMar laughed letting go of Kyle.

Kyle jokingly held his throat. "Thank god! I though you were gonna choke me to death! I couldn't get any air!" he said dramatically.

DeMar playfully rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a drama queen."

"Hey!"

Laughing, DeMar sat down and Kyle plopped down next to him.

"DeMar?"

"Yes?" DeMar replied, looking at Kyle.

"Did you go through my phone yesterday night? Don't lie."

"Yes I did. I saw that someone messaged you and was curious."

"Did you read it?" Kyle asked him.

"Nope. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"Oh okay."

They sat in silence, not really knowing what to say to each other.

But both of them had the same thing going through their heads.

They loved each other.

DeMar opened his mouth to say something, then was interrupted.

"Mr. DeRozan? Time for you to board."

DeMar nodded his head, and stood up. He looked at Kyle. "I will FaceTime you when I get there, okay?"

Kyle nodded his head, his eyes glistening.

DeMar swallowed. "I will see you later."

"Yes. See you later."

DeMar started to walk to the tunnel, tears starting to form. Then, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around was nearly knocked of balanced.

Kyle had basically launched himself into DeMar, hugging him so tightly, his head buried in his chest. DeMar was shocked at the sudden action, but hugged him back. He felt Kyle crying.

"I'm gonna miss you Deebo." Kyle cried.

"It's okay Kyle. Its okay." DeMar murmured. He gently tugged Kyle out of his embrace and looked at him in the eyes.

"No matter what happens, we will get though it. We are always gonna be best friends, okay?"

When Kyle didn't answer, DeMar tried again. "Okay Kyle? Always. Best. Friends."

Kyle nodded, his eyes glistening with tears. "The bestest of best friends."

DeMar smiled. That was Kyle. His heart longed to tell him. To confess everything to him, but he knew this wasn't the right time. They hugged one more time, and he headed into the tunnel.

"DeMar!"

He turned around to see Kyle waving.

"I will see you later!"

He smiled. "See you later."

He boarded the plane, and got comfortable. As he looked out of the window, he saw Kyle presses up against the airport windows, waving at the plane. He chuckled, and waved back, even though Kyle couldn't see him.

As the plane started to fly higher and higher

DeMar knew a couple of things

That him and Kyle were always gonna be "bestest of best friends"

And that they will get through this

Because that's what they wanted

They wanted the other to succeed

And they would support each other

No matter what.

And as Kyle said

It wasn't goodbye.

It was

See you later.


	7. Training Camp

_"Coming together_   
_Is a beginning;_   
_Keeping together_   
_Is progress;_   
_Working together_   
_Is success."_

* * *

Kyle and DeMar have been constantly talking to each other since DeMar left Toronto. Every single night they would FaceTime for hours, until Kyle fell asleep (because of the time change) or rarely when DeMar fell asleep first. Now that the Raptors training camp was being held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Demar would be the first one to fall asleep.

Kyle was currently in the main lobby of the hotel, waiting for a driver to come pick him up, to head to the Fortius Sport & Health, the place where the Raptors would be training.

It was the first time since DeMar left that Kyle would talk to the team.

The new team.

It was gonna be weird without DeMar.

Kyle never responded back to Kawhi's text. Danny has also messaged him too, but he never replied.

In fact, he didn't reply to anyone's messages.

Except DeMar.

And his mom.

And his brother.

And Nick Nurse.

"Kyle! Time to go!"

Shaking his head, he got up and walked over to where his agent was standing. He nodded to the Open Gym crew, and headed outside.

It was a nice, sunny day in Vancouver. Despite the sun, he threw his hoodie on, and followed his agent and the Raptors security.

He heard a couple of people saying hi to him, but he just ignored it and went in the car.

It wasn't too bad of a drive there, just a bit of traffic.

When he got there, he hesitated going in.

"I will be there in a sec." he told his agent.

They nodded, and headed in.

Kyle took a seat at a nearby bench, and buried his head in his hands. This felt weird. It didn't feel right with DeMar here.

He took a deep breath, and headed inside.

When he went inside, it felt like all eyes turned on him. He lowered his head, and walked toward the bench, where Nick was sitting. Nick looked up at the approaching point guard.

"Hey KLow."

"Hi." Kyle set his stuff down, and sat next to Nick, taking his slides off, and rummaging through his bag to get his shoes.

"Have you talked to the team yet?"

Kyle sighed. "No."

"Why?"

"Because. Its not the same." Since saying goodbye to DeMar at the airport, Kyle has been pretty distraught. He closed off and shut a lot of people out.

Why?

Because you can't trust people.

They just take advantage of you.

And that's what Kyle got out of this trade.

Kyle lowered his eyes, heard Nick sigh. His chest twisted. He knew he hasn't been the same. He knew that.

And he didn't know how to make it better.

DeMar always knew what to do with Kyle. If he was having a bad day or a bad game or something, they would always send Demar to Kyle.

Now he's on his own.

He heard Nick stand up. "Okay everyone! Bring it in!"

Nick turned to Kyle. "You too Lowry."

Kyle sighed, and stood up, standing next to Jonas, who gave him a small smile. Kyle nodded, and turned back to Nick.

"Okay guys, we are gonna use all the baskets. Lets start with the 1v1 tournament."

Kyle looked around. Before DeMar was always his partner to start, and whoever moved on moved on. Who would partner up with him now?

"Okay, so lets do Serge vs JV"

Oh. Nick is making it.

"Fred vs Norm."

"Malcom vs Chris."

"OG vs Delon."

"Pascal vs Danny."

Kyle tuned Nick out, and started staring into space, getting lost in his own thoughts.

"And finally, Kyle vs Kawhi."

Kyle snapped back to reality. Him vs Kawhi? One of the best two-way players in the league? Seriously?

He saw Kawhi walk towards him.

"Hey."

Kyle nodded his head, not saying anything.

He heard Kawhi shift. "Did you get my text?"

He nodded again. "Yea."

"Kyle?" Kyle looked up.

"I know your mad and stuff, but we are a team, and we gotta make this work out. We all have one goal in mind, and that is to win." Kawhi paused.

"But in order to do that, we need our point guard. I've seen you play before. I've seen the team chemistry. And I don't want it to be lost because of a trade. Can you make this work?"

Kyle stayed silent. Kawhi's words really hit him.

He wanted to win.

He wanted to do this.

He wanted to prove everyone that yes, the Toronto Raptors are a good team.

That they have a chance, even without DeMar, or Jakob.

Kyle realized that he was being a

Well

A dick about this whole situation.

Taking a deep breath,

He looked back up at Kawhi, who was waiting anxiously for his answer.

"Yes."


	8. Confession

_"In you_   
_I've found_   
_The love of my life_   
_And my closets_   
_Truest friend."_

* * *

DeMar felt his heart twist in his chest.

He was sitting in his apartment in San Antonio. He had ESPN on.

And on the screen was Kyle doing an interview.

With Kawhi Leonard.

DeMar couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. A million thoughts raced through his head.

Did Kyle already replace DeMar?

Did Toronto already forget him?

He shook his head. "Don't be an idiot." he scolded himself. "You were just talking to Kyle the other day!"

As he kept watching the interview, he thought about all the interviews that he and Kyle had done.

Together.

They had fun doing those interviews, teasing each other and making fun of the media.

But now he won't be able to do it with Kyle anymore.

He sighed, his heart still feeling twisted in his chest. Tomorrow the Spurs would be playing the Raptors. It would be a pretty emotional game, not just for him, or for Kyle, but also for Kawhi and Danny.

Because they were going to make their grand return.

DeMar turned his attention back to the tv. Kawhi was getting up, having finished his part of the interview. Now it was just Kyle.

DeMar smiled. Now this, he can watch.

On-screen, a reporter had just asked Kyle a question.

"We have all been noticing how you have been getting a lot of questions about DeMar. Are you getting tired of constantly getting questions about him?"

DeMar's heart tightened up, as he anxiously waited for Kyles answer.

"He's my best friend. I won't get tired of talking about my best friend."

DeMar broke out into a huge smile. He cringed a bit, hearing Kyle call him his best friend. He wanted to be more than that.

But he knew that was probably never gonna happen.

DeMar sighed, and continued to watch the rest of the interview.

"Hi Kyle. Michael Grange from Sportsnet. How is the back? Will you be playing against the  
Spurs tomorrow."

DeMar completely forgot about Kyle's back injury. He remembered Kyle complaining to him about it.

"It's sore, that's for sure. I have been doing some workouts, but I will not be playing tomorrow."

DeMar breathed out a sigh of relief, then instantly felt guilty. He was happy because he didn't know how he would feel if he had to face Kyle. It was already worse facing the Raptors, let alone possibly guarding Kyle.

He looked back at the tv. Kyle had finished the interview, and now they were comparing the Spurs and the Raptors.

Suddenly feeling tired, he curled up and the couch, and fell asleep.

* * *

*Ding dong!*

DeMar groggily sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He looked at the clock, realizing that he had slept for an hour. He sighed tiredly.

*Ding dong!*

"Coming!" he yelled, standing up and stretching. He headed to the front, and opened the door.

His mouth fell opened.

Standing right in front of him

Was Kyle.

"Shocked to see me?" Kyle teased. "I know I'm so amazing but you don't need to be so surprised."

"Shut up short stuff." DeMar laughed.

Kyle just stuck out his tongue and DeMar rolled his eyes.

"You excited for the game tomorrow?" asked Kyle, walking into the living room and plopping down on the couch.

"Yea." DeMar replied. "How's your back?"

"Eh, its still sore. I got pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections the other day."

DeMar wrinkled his nose. "Yuck."

"I know."

"You hungry?" DeMar asked Kyle.

He nodded. "Yea, starving."

"Okay, imma go heat up some leftovers then."

"Okay, I'm gonna give myself a tour of your house then."

DeMar nodded, and went into the kitchen, while Kyle went to wander around the house.

He heated up some pizza, and waiting for it to finish. He heard some doors opening and closing and footsteps upstairs.

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

DeMar grabbed the pizza, and put it on two plates. He placed the plates on the coffee table, and yelled "Kyle!"

"Coming!"

DeMar heard footsteps heading down the stairs. Couple seconds later, Kyle walked in the room. "We eating pizza?"

"Yessir."

They sat down on the couch, and DeMar reached over and grabbed the remote, and turned on the tv. ESPN was on, and they were talking about the Raptors vs the Spurs game.

"I think the Raptors are gonna win." Kyle suddenly said.

DeMar shook his head. "Nope, I'm going with the Spurs."

"Don't be biased Deebo." Kyle warned jokingly.

"Your the one who started it!" DeMar shot back, rolling his eyes playfully.

"Okay, why do you think the Spurs are going to win then?" challenged Kyle.

"Well." DeMar stated. "Last time I checked, they had the best player in the world on there team. Who is that? Oh, its me."

"I don't see no good player." teased Kyle.

DeMar raised his eyebrows. "What was that Lowry? Care to say that again?"

"You ain't no good player. I'm ain't afraid of you"

DeMar rolled his eyes again. He picked a piece of pepperoni off his slice and threw it Kyle.

"Oh no! I've been hit." Kyle gasped dramatically. He grabbed his arm, and fell of the couch. "Oh that pain! The pain!"

DeMar laughed at Kyle, who was now lying on floor, "dead".

"Your such a cry baby." DeMar teased.

Kyle, still lying the floor, crosses his arms, and pouted. "Hey! Take that back."

DeMar smirked. "Nope." He grabbed a pillow off the couch and threw it at Kyle.

Kyle gasped, and threw it back.

DeMar caught the pillow, and raised his eyebrows at Kyle. "Oh you wanna go?"

"Wha -" Kyle was cut off when DeMar pinned him down and starting to tickle him.

"DeMar! Stop!" Kyle laughed, trying to kick him off.

"Who's the best player in the world again?" DeMar asked, while still tickling him.

Kyle refused to answer.

"Who is it?" DeMar pressed.

"Okay okay! It's you, it's you!" Kyle gasped out, while still laughing.

DeMar laughed, and stopped tickling Kyle.

Kyle looked up at him, eyes wide, completely breathless. DeMar realized how close they were, but didn't pull away. He didn't want to.

"DeMar?" Kyle asked quietly.

"Yea?"

"Are you okay?"

DeMar didn't realize that he had tears in eyes. He blinked. "Yea, I'm fine."

"DeMar." Kyle said. "Tell me."

DeMar swallowed and looked down at Kyle.

His best friend.

The one he loved.

He took a deep breath.

"Kyle I -"

Then stopped. He couldn't. It would make things awkward and weird.

He didn't wanna lose him.

"DeMar, you can tell me anything."

DeMar took a deep breath. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"Kyle..."

"I love you."

There. He said it. He sat up, and leaned against the couch. He closed his eyes, waiting for Kyle to laugh, or reject him, or be disgusted.

"DeMar. Look at me."

DeMar slowly opened his eyes, and looked into Kyles.

"I'm sorry I-"

Kyle cut him off. "It's okay. You wanna know why?"

DeMar felt his heart pounding in his chest. Does Kyle feel the same way?

"Because I love you too." Kyle confessed shyly, looking at the ground.

DeMar felt his heart burst in his chest. Kyle Lowry loved him back! He engulfed Kyle in a big hug.

"DeMar?"

DeMar pulled back, and rested his forehead against Kyles.

"Yes?"

"Does this mean we are more then best friends?"

DeMar just laughed, and pulled Kyle into another hug.

He heard Kyle sigh into the hug, and Demar pulled him closer.

He couldn't have loved him even more.

Now DeMar realized something.

That he would never

Ever

Let Kyle go.

He loved him too much.

And Kyle loved him back.

DeMar sighed, and kissed to top of his head.

"I love you Kyle Lowry."


	9. Game Day

_"Never regret a day_   
_In your life._   
_Good days_   
_Give happiness,_   
_Bad days_   
_Give experience,_   
_Worst days_   
_Give lessons,_   
_And best days_   
_Give memories."_

* * *

"Okay Kyle, 10 shots in a row, let's go."

Kyle nodded his head, and positioned himself at the corner, on the 3 point line. A couple of fans were already sitting at the court side seats, saying some sort of gibberish to him. Ignoring them he began his shots.

"One."

Swish.

"Two."

Swish.

"Three."

Swish.

He kept going. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

"Last one Kyle! Make it count."

He got ready to shot, then felt someone push him.

"Hey! What the-" then stopped, realizing who it was. "Hey Deebo."

It was weird seeing DeMar in the Spurs warm up gear.

"You playing?"

"Nah. Back still really sore. But I'm slowly healing."

"Oh." DeMar looked around. "Wanna go get a quick drink?"

Kyle shrugged. "Sure."

As they walked off the court, and into the hallway where the lockers were, DeMar looked back at Kyle. "I just wanted to get out of there, because of all the fans and cameras."

Kyle just nodded.

"You okay?"

"Yea. I'm just disappointed that I can't play today. Again." Kyle sighed frustrated.

"It's okay. The next time we meet up, then we can vs each other." DeMar said, patting his head.

"DeMar! You have to do your pre game interview!"

"Gotta go now. You wanna get together after the game?"

"Yea." Kyle nodded his head.

DeMar smiled, and kissed his forehead. "Okay. Get ready to lose!"

Kyle smirked. "We will see about that!"

* * *

  
"Okay guys. It's gonna be an emotional night. We are just gonna have to play hard. Hustle hard. Give it all. Ignore all the boos, all the jeers. We are here for business. Don't let 'em take easy shots. Be confident in your shots. We got this."

"One two three WIN!"

The Raptors lined up, getting ready to head onto the court. Kyle stayed behind, waiting for everyone to exit first. He and Serge did their handshake, which they would clasp hands and reach over to pat each other in the back.

But what people didn't realize (Kyle himself didn't even realize) is that he keeps going to handshake that him and DeMar used to do.

It was like DeMar was still there.

But at the same time he wasn't.

Kyle let his mind wander to yesterdays events. How they both confessed their feelings.

And boy was Kyle was happy about it.

The crowd booing cut him out of his thoughts. He raced out of the tunnel following his teammates.

He starting shooting around a bit, having a bit of fun with his team, then he went to the bench to sit and wait for the starting line ups to be called.

The lights slowly went out, and on the video screen was a tribute video, for Kawhi and Danny.

The crowd reactions were not a surprise. There were a mix between boos and cheers. Kyle went over to Kawhi, who was looking up at the screen. He walked over and stood next to him, silently indicating that he was gonna be on his side, and that the boos shouldn't bother him. Kawhi looked at him, and nodded his head. The video ended saying: Thank you Danny and Kawhi! with the lights turning back on.

Time for the starting lineups.

_"And now the starting line ups for the Toronto Raptors."_

_"A 6 foot guard from Wichita State, number 23 Fred Vanvleet."_

_"A 6'6 guard from North Carolina, number 14 Danny Green."_

Cheers.

_"A 6'7 forward from San Diego State, number 2 Kawhi Leonard."_

Boos.

_"A 6'9 forward from New Mexico State, number 43 Pascal Siakam."_

_"A 7 foot centre from the Republic of Congo, number 9 Serge Ibaka."_

_"The head coach of the Toronto Raptors is Nick Nurse."_

Then the Spurs introductions started.

Kyle smiled when DeMar came on, remembering when they would joke around during the starting lineups.

Serge walked over to Kyle. "What are you smiling about?"

Kyle shook his head. "Nothing."

* * *

So the game didn't go as well as they had hoped.

Every single time Kawhi had the ball, the crowd would start booing.

DeMar ent off on them, having the night of his life with his first triple double.

And man, the Raptors got crushed.

Final score, 125-107.

The team walked back to the visiting teams locker room. It was silent.

"Okay everyone bring it in." Nick said, walking in the room.

"Keep your heads up. Its one game. Next time we just got to play better defensively and take those shots. Raps on 3"

"One two three, Raps!"

Kyle sat down and looked around. The atmosphere was kinda of tense, with disappointment and frustration in the air. Kawhi especially looked upset, and no one could blame him. No matter what he did tonight, he would get booed, or chants of "traitor" would start.

Kyle shook his head. This guy had won a championship with them! These fans should be more grateful.

He got up, and walked out of the locker room.

"Kyle wait!"

He turned around, to see Serge walking up to him. "You coming back to the hotel with us?"

He shook his head. "Nah. DeMar invited me over. Imma be going to his house."

"Okay." Serge said, slightly raising his eyebrows.

Kyle looked at him confused. "What?"

Serge shook his head. "Nothing."

Kyle just shrugged his shoulders, and left. He walked out back onto the court, and sat in the middle of it, on the logo. He heard some people shouting and saying stuff at him, but he just ignored them. He lay down, and closed his eyes, and let his mind wander.

"Hey sleepy head!"

Kyle opened on eye, and smiled when he saw DeMar leaning over him.

"Hey. And I wasn't sleeping by the way."

"I know, it just looked like it." DeMar said, laughing.

"Whatever."

"By the way, since we won, you have to buy me something."

Kyle cocked his head to one side. "Huh?"

DeMar shrugged his shoulders. "I said in my post game interview that I was hungry, and said that hopefully you would buy me something so."

"Seriously? Just because you said that, that means I have to do it?"

"Yup." DeMar chuckled.

Kyle groaned. "Fine, whatever."

DeMar just chuckled again, and helped Kyle up.

Kyle smirked. "But only if you can catch me!" and took off running.

"Hey!"

Kyle laughed and heard DeMar grabbing his stuff and ran after him.

This is what he was missing when DeMar left.

Them just having fun

Together.  
  



	10. Night Out (& In)

_"You never fail_   
_To amaze me._   
_Everyday there is_   
_Something new that_   
_Makes me love you_   
_Even more than the_   
_Day before."_

* * *

"It's so nice here." Kyle said in awe, looking around. He and DeMar were wandering around the streets of San Antonio.

"I know." DeMar said, looking at Kyle, a smile gracing his face.

Kyle looked at DeMar. "Do you miss Toronto?"

"Yea, but San Antonio is my new home now. I discovered so many places to go eat." DeMar teased, earning a groan from Kyle. "Open your wallet Lowry because I'm staving."

"I don't understand." Kyle muttered. "The American dollar is better than the Canadian! Why are you making me pay?"

"Because last time I checked, I was the one running around for 2 hours."

"Yea but that's not my fault!" Kyle whined, making DeMar chuckle. "Stop laughing!"

"You sound like your 5 Kyle. Man up." DeMar teased.

Kyle just grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Kyle folded his arms across his chest, and pouted. 

"Aww, is Kyle upset that he lost?" DeMar cooed, laughter in his voice.

"Shut up Deebo." Kyle muttered, a bit of laughter in is voice.

"Okay, we are here!"

Kyle looked at the restaurant. It looked nice, and had an elegant charm to it.

"International Vine?"

"Yea. It's like the best restaurant in the whole world." DeMar said, grabbing Kyle's arm, and dragging him along.

"Wait wait wait, is this place expensive?" Kyle asked.

DeMar raised his eyebrows. "Kyle, you make like 33.3 million a year. You can afford it. Plus it's not as expensive as you think."

Ignoring Kyle, DeMar dragged him in with him.

"Hi Kegan!" DeMar greeted the man at the front.

"Hi DeMar! Great game today!"

"Thanks."

"Usual spot?"

"Yes please, and I have a guest with me." DeMar nodded at Kyle.

"Hi! The name's Kegan Collins. It's nice to meet you."

"My names Kyle. It's nice to meet you too." They shook hands.

"Okay, follow me." Kegan lead them to a private area, so the other customers wouldn't bother them.

"Thank you!"

"Mhm, I will be right with you guys. The specialty drinks are on the back." Kegan nodded, and left.

Kyle opened the menu,and started looking through it. DeMar grabbed it from him.

"Hey!"

"I will order for us. Trust me." Demar winked.

"Okay, if you order then you are paying, right?"

"Good try short stuff, your still paying."

Kyle just sighed, and DeMar laughed.

The rest of the night was enjoyable. The two shared memories, laughs, jokes, and just enjoyed each other's company.

"Serge was acting pretty weird in the locker room after the game." Kyle said.

"Huh? What do you mean? I mean you guys lost so I don't see why he wouldn't."

"No, like after, he had asked me if i was coming back to the hotel with them."

"Mhm."

"I said no, and that I was going out with you."

"Okay." DeMar nodded his head.

"Then I don't know, he started having this look on his face, like he knew something or something like that." Kyle looked at DeMar. "If that even makes sense."

"I think I know what it is." DeMar realized.

"Did you tell anybody on the team that we were dating?"

"No, why?" Kyle asked, confused.

"Because I kinda told him, and JV, and Delon, Freddy, Norm, OG, Yak, and P that I liked you."

Kyle tilted his head to one side. "Huh? When did you do that?"

"Remember when we all went out for dinner the night before me and Yak left? That's when. You went to the bathroom or something." DeMar explained.

"Ohhh. That makes sense." Kyle nodded his head. "Do you think I should tell them then?"

DeMar shrugged. "It's honestly up to you. It's not that I don't care, but it's the fact that these are your teammates, and it's your choice."

Kyle nodded. "Yea."

Kegan then came over. "How is everything? Y'all ready for the bill?"

"Yes please."

"You guys sharing or need two separate?"

"Sharing." DeMar answered.

"Aight, imma be back. Cash or credit?"

"Credit." Kyle answered.

Kegan nodded, and left.

Kyle looked back at DeMar. "You still making me pay?"

DeMar smirked. "You already know. Plus, we won so I deserve a treat."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Whatever. The next time we face, we will win, and I will be playing!"

DeMar laughed. "Whatever short stuff."

"Hey! But watch. If you guys lose the next time then that means you guys only won because I wasn't playing!"

DeMar rolled his eyes. "Don't stretch your ego too far Lowry."

Kyle just stuck his tongue out.

"Here you go." Kegan came back with the credit card machine. Kyle thanked him, and payed.

"Thank you guys! Hope you guys enjoy the rest of your night!"

"Thanks Kegan!"

They grabbed their stuff, and headed out.

"Hold up Kyle, lemme call my driver." DeMar said, pulling his phone out.

"Okay." Kyle pulled his phone out too, scrolling through Instagram while DeMar called his driver.

A couple minutes later, he showed up, and they headed back to DeMar's house.

"What do you wanna do now?" DeMar asked, when they got inside his house.

Kyle shrugged. "I dunno."

"Wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Sure."

"Okay, imma go make popcorn and you head down to pick a movie?" DeMar suggested.

"Okay!" Kyle wandered into the theatre, and collapsed on the couch, his back slightly aching. He grabbed the remote, and starting scrolling through Netflix.

He smell of buttery popcorn filled the air, and he heard footsteps. DeMar came in, and closed to door behind him.

He sat beside Kyle, who was still scrolling through Netflix.

"Did you find anything to watch?" DeMar asked, throwing some popcorn in his mouth.

"Nope. Wanna just binge watch a series instead?" Kyle suggested, reaching over to grab some popcorn.

"Okay. Wanna watch the Office?"

"Sure!"

Kyle put it on, and got they both got comfortable. After watching almost the whole final season, Kyle was starting to get really tired. He yawned, and put the now empty bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table.

"What time is you flight tomorrow?" DeMar asked softly, eyes glued to the screen.

"It's late. Like 4." Kyle replied, yawning. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Without realizing it, he placed his head on DeMar's shoulder, and drifted off to sleep.

DeMar felt something heavy lean on his shoulder, and he turned his head to see Kyles head on his shoulder, eyes closed and sleep. He smiled, and gently took Kyle off. He gently placed Kyle down, and got up to grab some blankets. He put the empty bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

Getting comfortable next to Kyle, he readjusted Kyles head, and Kyle started to move. DeMar froze, scared that he had accidentally woke him up, but Kyle just readjusted himself in his sleep, placing his head on DeMar's chest.

DeMar chuckled, and kissed to top of his head. He threw the blanket over top of them, and turned of the tv.

DeMar lay there a bit, trying to get himself to go to sleep.

He started to pet Kyles hair, feeling the short curls. Kyles hair was getting kind of rough, since he was growing it out.

DeMar sighed, wishing that this could happen every single night.

But that wasn't the way it was.

But its okay.

Because as long as he has Kyle

He knew that these moments were precious

And that he would cherish them.

He tiredly sighed again, gently closing his eyes.

He gave Kyle one more kiss on the top of his head.

"Sweet dreams KLow."


	11. A Thousand Miles

_"Hang out_   
_With people who_   
_Make you feel good_   
_About being_   
_You"  
  
_

* * *

Kyle thanked DeMar's driver, and hopped out of the car. He had slept over at DeMar's place, and had fell asleep on DeMar's chest. Even though they lost yesterday, he felt like he had won, because he was able to spend the first night with DeMar.

Kyle walked into the hotel, to see the team just chilling in the lobby. He wandered up to them.

"Hey everyone." Kyle said, sitting down next to Jonas.

"Hey Kyle, where have you been?" asked Jonas, nodding to him.

"I was at DeMar's." Kyle answered, checking his phone. It suddenly got really quiet. He looked up, seeing everyone stare at him. "What?"

"Is there something you wanna tell us, Lowry?" asked Fred, wiggling his eyebrows.

Kyle tilted his head to one side, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You know." Pascal said, smirking.

"Nah, I'm actually confused right now."

"Anything you wanna tell us about DeMar?" Serge prompted.

What about Deebo?"

Pascal groaned and Norman rolled his eyes. "Who knew someone who has such high IQ could be so dumb!"

"Hey!" Kyle frowned, wondering what they meant.

Then it hit him.

He never told them that he and DeMar were dating.

But DeMar has told them that he liked him.

So they were trying to get the dirt out of Kyle.

He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. These guys could have been straight up with him.

"KLow, just tell us!" Delon said, breaking him out of his thought.

"What did DeMar tell you guys?" asked Kyle.

"He said that, um." Pascal hesitated, looking at Norman. Norman just shrugged.

"That he liked me?" Kyle cut in.

"Yeah that." replied Pascal. He turned to Kyle, shocked. "Wait, what!?"

Everyone looked at him, surprised.

Kyle smirked. "Yeah, we are dating. I thought it was pretty obvious."

Jonas looked at him. "Well congrats! We all called it."

Everyone nodded, and said their congratulations. Kyle laughed to himself. This is why he loved his teammates. They were always so supportive, and always can put a smile on his face.

Danny looked at him confused. "Wait, you and DeMar weren't dating before?"

Everyone turned to him. "Huh?"

"Bro, what are you talking about?" Fred asked, laughing.

Danny looked at Kawhi and shrugged. "I don't know, I guess we all thought you guys were."

"It was the way you guys would act." Kawhi added. "Everyone assumed you guys were dating."

Kyle just shook his head and laughed.

After chilling and talking with the team for a bit, he went upstairs to pack up his bags. They would be leaving soon.

He went inside and starting packing. His phone rang, and he reached over. DeMar was calling him.

"Hey Deebo!" Kyle said, the call on speakerphone.

"Hey Kyle! What are you doing?"

"I'm just packing. What's up?" Kyle asked, throwing his clothes in his suitcase.

"I'm bored."

Kyle chuckled. "Well I can't help you there."

DeMar whined. "Why couldn't you stayyyyy."

Kyle rolled his eyes, even though DeMar couldn't see. "Oh I don't know, maybe because I have a flight in 2 hours?"

"Kyle! Hurry up! The bus is here!" Serge called, knocking on the door.

"Sorry Deebo, gotta run now."

"Okay, call me when you get back, okay?"

"Yessir, see you later."

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too." Kyle ended the call, and zipped up his suitcase. Opening the door, he was meet with a smirking Serge. "Okay, what did I do now!"

"Nothing, I'm just going to keep teasing you about this now."

Kyle just rolled his eyes, as Serge chuckled, heading downstairs.

* * *

"And I need you!"

_Dodo dododo_

"And I miss you!"

_Dodo dododo_

"And now I WONDERRR"

Kyle groaned, and looked over at Kawhi, who just rolled his eyes. The team was on the plane now. Danny decided to put some music on, then let Norman pick a song (which was a bad idea). Now most of the team were singing A Thousand Miles at the top of their lungs.

But they were horrible singers.

"If I could fall, into the sky"

"Do you think time would pass me by?"

"'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles"

"If I could just see you tonight!" sang (more like screamed) Norman, Pascal, Danny, Serge, Chris, Jordan, and Patrick.

Kyle just groaned again. He looked back at Kawhi, who had his hoodie and earbuds on. He turned and looked around.

He chuckled at Fred trying to push Norman off of him. Norman was trying to get Fred to sing.

OG and Delon were talking to each other, about who knows what.

Jonas was sleeping.

CJ was on his phone. He looked up and made eye contact with Kyle. He rolled his eyes, while mouthing "their crazy!"

Kyle just chuckled and nodded his head. He sat back down, and rummaged through his pockets to find his earbuds. Plugging them in, he put them in his ears, and turned the volume up. He sighed, and closed his eyes, his head resting on the walls of the plane.

As he drifted off to sleep, all he heard was his song playing and the faint noise of the airplane engines.

Oh, and the singing of his teammates slowly dying down.

* * *

*Ring Ring!*

Kyle groaned. He was so tired. All he wanted to do was sleep. Was it too much to ask?

He had just gotten home, and had all had just crashed. He was in his living room, literally just lying on the floor. He didn't wanna move.

Keeping his eyes closed, he fumbled around, trying to find his phone. He finally found it and answered.

"What do you want."

"Hey! That wasn't very nice!"

Kyle opened his eyes and blinked tiredly at the screen. "Hey babe."

DeMar chuckled. "Hi to you too."

Kyle yawned. "Sorry, I'm just so tired."

"So you decided to sleep on the floor?"

Kyle laughed. "No I just got home, and I didn't feel like moving."

He heard DeMar laugh. "Of course, you and you lazy ass!"

"Hey!"

"It's true." teased DeMar. "But I still love you."

"You better." Kyle shot back playfully.

DeMar made a sad face. "So ain't even gonna say I love you back? I'm offended."

Kyle chuckled. "I love you Deebo."

"I love you too KLow."

And for hours after that, they just talked.

Because moments like these were precious.

Even though they were thousand miles apart.

Their love was so much stronger.


	12. Bell Let’s Talk

_"Remember_   
_It's okay to ask for help_   
_It's okay to start again_   
_It's okay to say no_   
_It's okay to rest_   
_It's okay to let go_   
_It's okay to not be okay."_

* * *

*Beep! Beep!*

DeMar roggily opened his eyes, and fumbled trying to find his phone. He shut it off, and rubbed his face tiredly. Looking at his phone, he checked the time.

11:28 am.

He and Kyle was up like all night, just talking. He missed Kyle so much, and talking to him through a screen wasn't the same.

He missed Kyle.

All of him.

He sighed, not feeling too motivated to get up. He went in his phone, and went to go check his Instagram.

As he scrolled through peoples stories, Delon's story caught his eye. It was a video. And Open Gym moment.

He turned up the volume, and once he started watching it, he realized that he totally forgot what day it is.

It's Bell Lets Talk Day*.

DeMar as opened up to his mental health in the past. He suffered from depression and anxiety. Bell Lets Talk Day is important to him.

But since he was in the another country, he didn't think he would be able to help with it.

He decided to repost the Official Bell Let's Talk video on his story, because every view the video gets will help.

Feeling motivated, he got up to start his day.

* * *

"Oh travel!"

"What? How?"

"Dude, you literally walked with the ball."

The Raptors were at the OVO Athletic Centre for practice. Fred and Pascal were doing a 1v1, while Kyle and Norman watched.

"No I didn't! How?" Pascal asked, confused.

"Like this." Kyle showed him what he did. "Just ask Freddy!"

"Hey man." Fred put his hands up. "I'm not getting in to it."

"Ask Norman then!"

"Yeah, I agree with Kyle." Norman said, showing Pascal what he did.

"Wow." Pascal said, shaking his head. Open Gym came wandering over. They had recorded the whole thing. Pascal went over to the camera, to say something.

"Okay see what's happening here? They are all ganging up on me." Pascal complained to the camera. Kyle just shook his head, smiling and Norman was beside him, laughing.

"See look." Pascal went to point at Fred and Kyle. "Kyle is only on Freddy's side because they are point guards." He then pointed to Norman. "And him? He just don't like me. That's why."

Still laughing at Pascals complaining, Kyle wandered over to the bench with Norman and Fred, and sat down.

"I wonder what is happening over there." Fred remarked.

"Huh?" Kyle followed Fred's gaze, and saw that the other Open Gym camera was with Delon. They were standing with someone, and had just called Jonas and CJ over. They then proceeded to start write something down on a piece of paper. Then, that person walked over to where they were sitting.

"Hi, I am a representative for Bell Canada, and for Bell Let's Talk Day, I was wondering if one of you guys could come and help us out the video?"

Fred nodded his head. "I can help!"

"Okay, so all you have to do is write on this piece of paper, something that people can do to help others with mental health. You can write Listen, or Be Kind, or something like that."

Kyle completely forgot about Bell Let's Talk Day. He knew that this was important. He thought about DeMar, and his mental heath issues.

He remembered when DeMar told him about his depression. He had told him before he opened up about it.

And he remembered how scared he was for DeMar.

Kyle snapped out of his thoughts as he heard his phone ring. Rummaging through his bag, he found it.

DeMar as calling him.

"Hey Deebo. What's up?"

"Hey babe. Did you forget that it's Bell Lets Talk Day?"

"No. I just didn't have the time to repost anything because unlike you I was actually training."

"Hey! I could be training right now." DeMar answered.

"Yeah right." Kyle rolled his eyes.

"Wanna bet?"

"Okay, I bet that you are still in bed."

Kyle was just met with silence. He smirked, knowing that DeMar was still in bed. "Ha! Knew it!"

"Okay okay, whatever." He could picture DeMar rolling his eyes at him. He chuckle, and plugged his earbuds in, so he could still talk to Demar.

"You already reposted the video?"

"Of course. It's important."

"Are you going to do anything for Bell Let's Talk Day?"

"I have an interview later. I'm probably gonna talk about not just what Bell does, but mental health in general."

Kyle nodded. "That makes sense."

"Is anybody on your team gonna get traded before the due date?" DeMar suddenly asked.

"Huh? I don't know." Kyle answered, confused. "Why?"

"I don't know, because there are some rumours and stuff."

Kyle scoffed. "Don't listen to it Deebo. Its just speculation." he snapped.

"Yeah I guess." He heard DeMar sighed, and felt guilty.

"Sorry for snapping at you."

"Hey, it's fine."

The two sat in a semi awkward silence. Kyle looked up, and started watching Norman and Pascal vs each other.

"So, are you gonna post something?" DeMar asked, breaking the silence.

"Do you want me too?"

"Um, well, yeah. Because, well, I don't know."

Kyle laughed. "Great explanation Deebo."

"Thank you very much babe!" DeMar said, laughing along with him.

Laughing, Kyle just shook his head. He went on Instagram, and reposted the video. He also posted a picture of him and DeMar, typing

#bellletstalk  
This guy is strong enough to show everyone that yeah, he is human and that he has feelings too. Don't be afraid to go and talk to someone you love about your feelings, because the worst thing is to be battling everyday with your mind, and not have any support. You already know the love Deebo💙🤍

"Aww, is Kyle getting soft?" teased DeMar.

"Well it's true." Kyle said shyly.

"But here's my question. What happens if I don't know the love?

"DeMar! Your so annoying!" Kyle groaned.

"I don't know what your talking about. I'm like the least annoyingest person you have ever met."

"Annoyingest? That isn't even a word!"

"Yeah it is."

"Okay how?"

"Because I made it up, so ha."

They ended up having a little banter like that, until Nick yelled at Kyle to get his ass back to training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *note*
> 
> On January 29, it's Bell Lets Talk Day.
> 
> For the whole day, Bell will donate 5 cents for each view the official Bell Lets Talk video gets. This money will go towards Canadian Mental Health Initiatives. 
> 
> Bell Let's Talk is an awareness campaign created by the Canadian telecommunications company Bell Canada to raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding mental illness in Canada.
> 
> Many NBA players around the league, including DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love have opened up their mental health struggles. The Toronto Sports organizations (Raptors, Maple Leafs, TFC, Argos) have been supportive of this cause. Many other professional Canadian athlete's (Clara Hughes) have also opened up with their struggles. 
> 
> Its doesn't matter if your Canadian, or not, or that Bell Lets Talk Day has passed, its still important to be aware of mental health, and to end the stigma around it. 
> 
> 💙💙🤍🤍#bellletstalk


	13. Trade Deadline

_"It_   
_Hurt_   
_Because_   
_It_   
_Mattered"_

* * *

DeMar was bored.

Really bored.

Since the whole Toronto Raptors might trade at the deadline speculation, Kyle has been pretty busy, making sure that he doesn't get traded, by doing more workouts. Because of this, he was usually dead every night, and whenever they FaceTimed he would fall asleep instantly.

DeMar sighed. He was going to die of boredom soon.

He went on his phone, and looked at Toronto and San Antonio's schedule.

San Antonio was going to play Portland on Thursday.

Toronto was going to play Atlanta on Thursday too.

DeMar kept looking at the schedule. He wanted to surprise Kyle.

Toronto was playing New York on Saturday, and San Antonio wasn't playing that day.

DeMar smiled to himself. New York! That would be a great place for a date.

It was decided.

He was going to give Kyle a surprise visit.

* * *

Kyle couldn't believe it.

It couldn't be true.

He and the team were in Atlanta, going to play the Atlanta Hawks.

Today was the trade deadline.

And Toronto had made a trade.

They were trading away CJ, Delon, and Jonas.

For Marc Gasol.

Don't get him wrong, Kyle liked Marc. Marc was a great basketball player. He had such a high IQ and had a great understanding of the game. Marc was great at passing, setting up plays, and setting killer screens. Kyle and Marc were actually teammates back in Memphis.

But it hurt, because they had traded Jonas.

Jonas was drafted the same year that Kyle came to the Raptors. They poured their hearts into this franchise for 7 years. Now that DeMar had left, they were to two longest serving Raptors.

And now he was gone.

Kyle didn't want to believe it.

But it was happening.

First DeMar.

Now Jonas.

Kyle sighed sadly. He headed down to the front entrance, trying to hold back his tears. God damn Kyle! Stop being so damn emotional! It's not like they died so something!

But it still hurt.

He went to the lobby, and ran into CJ.

"I'm gonna miss you." Kyle said, hugging CJ.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Lowry." CJ replied.

"Good luck in Memphis, okay? Text me when you get there and if you need anything, just call."

"Of course dad." CJ jokingly replied. "Thanks for everything Kyle. Good luck this season. I'm cheering you on."

Kyle nodded, saying one last goodbye to CJ, and wandered outside.

Delon was outside, saying goodbye to the coaches, who were waiting to get onto the bus.

"D Wright!"

Delon turned around, and went to give Kyle a hug.

"Thanks for everything Kyle. You really taught me a lot."

"Good luck in Memphis, okay? Your gonna be such a great player. Reachin' your prime soon, I know it."

"Thanks Kyle. Good luck for the rest of the season."

Saying one last goodbye, Kyle waited for Jonas to head outside.

Jonas came outside, and went over to Kyle. "I'm going to miss you, KLow."

"Same here JV. Good luck in Memphis. I will be cheering you on."

"Same here. I know you got this okay?"

"Thanks JV."

"Good luck with DeMar too." Jonas said, winking at Kyle. Kyle just rolled his eyes, laughing.

"Win the championship for us, okay Kyle? For you, for me, and CJ, Delon. I know you guys got this."

Kyle nodded. "Thanks Jonas. Really appreciate it."

The Lithuanian pulled the smaller point guard in a big hug. Kyle was surprised, but hugged him back. Saying one last goodbye, he headed on to the bus.

As he watched from the window, Jonas was still saying his goodbyes. When the bus pulled out, Jonas was watching, standing there waving. Kyle texted him.

  
-

**Kyle**

we got this for you, aight?

**Jonas**

i know, you will win😀  
  


-

Kyle sighed, and looked out the window again. He was gonna call DeMar, but then realized that he was playing tonight, so he couldn't. He sighed again, just staring out the window, his vision blurring up with tears.

_I need you right now Deebo...._

* * *

DeMar as shocked.

Pop had just broke the news of trades that were happening within the league, so they knew who they were going up against now.

And Toronto had made another trade.

Jonas Valančiūnas, CJ Miles, and Delon Wright for Marc Gasol.

Damn. he thought, pulling out his phone. Pop had finished talking, and now they were just getting ready in the locker room for the game.

He texted Jonas.

  
-

**DeMar**

hey JV. found out about the trade. good luck in Memphis okay? they are gonna love you

**Jonas**

Thanks Demar😀

**DeMar**

no problem! text me when you get to Memphis, okay?

**Jonas**

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

  
-

DeMar shut his phone off. It was game time.

* * *

Toronto at Atlanta.

Final score: Toronto 119 - 101 Atlanta

It was a great win.

Pascal had a great night, career-high 33 points.

Fred also had a great night, career-high 30 points.

Kyle had a great night too, a double-double; 13 points and 13 assists.

But he felt like shit.

Complete shit.

He still didn't want to believe that three players were traded. One which he was close too.

But it was real.

And he better believe it.

He sighed again, looking around the room. He felt like such a horrible teammate right now. Pascal and Fred both had such an amazing game, and he wanted to celebrate with them.

But he couldn't.

And he felt like shit about it.

He couldn't stay here anymore. He felt like he was ruining everyone's mood. He walked out, without anyone noticing.

He walked down the hallway, into a quite area where no one else was there.

Kyle leaned his back against the wall. Taking deep breaths, trying to get himself to breathe.

He was letting all his insecurities get the best of him.

And now all his thoughts (good and bad) were running through his head.

He couldn't take it anymore.

Letting out a silent sob, he slowly sunk down to the ground.

What was wrong with him?

He took deep shuddering breathes.

A voice suddenly cut through his thoughts.

"Kyle?"  
  



	14. For Us

_"It's so important to_   
_Love someone a_   
_Little extra_   
_On their_   
_Bad days"_

* * *

_Letting out a silent sob, he slowly sunk down to the ground._

_What was wrong with him?_

_He took deep shuddering breathes._

_A voice suddenly cut through his thoughts._

_"Kyle?"_

* * *

DeMar had decided to come earlier, right after his game to surprise Kyle. He had told Serge that he wanted to surprise Kyle, so before the game, Serge had told his agent and the Raptors Security that DeMar was coming, and to hook him up with a seat and to be able to come to the back.

DeMar anaged to come to the game, around the 4th quarter. He was greeted at the entrance of the State Farm Arena by Serge's agent and two of the Raptors Security. Along with them, and his agent, they were allowed to head to the back, where the lockers were.

He headed to his seat, ignoring people who recognized him. He smiled at Open Gym, who noticed him, then turned his attention to the game.

Damn. he thought, looking at the stats. Pascal and Fred were balling like there was no tomorrow. They were doing great.

Kyle was doing great too.

But something seemed off.

And DeMar could tell.

P  
He was playing great, almost getting a double-double, but he just seemed off.

Like mentally off.

DeMar could tell by his body language, and his facial expressions.

The referees whistles and booing cut him out of his thoughts. He decided that he would ask Kyle about later.

Now he was just going to enjoy the game.

* * *

As the final buzzer sounded, DeMar decided to just chill and wait for a bit, because of how busy the arena was of fans trying to leave.

He just chilled, scrolling through his phone, until his agent said that it would be fine to go.

DeMar headed to the visiting locker room. His agent was going to stay behind and wait for him.

He wandered to it, and went inside.

"Hey Deebo!" He smiled, heading over to Serge.

"Hey Serge." They dapped each other. "Great game today."

DeMar urned to Pascal and Fred were. "You guys did great today!"

"Thanks my guy." Pascal said, dapping him up.

"Thanks DeMar."

"Have you guys seen Kyle?" DeMar asked, looking around the room.

Fred shrugged. "I don't know. He was here just a second ago."

DeMar nodded. "Aight, imma go look for him then."

"Oh and good job DeMar. You finally got your scaredy ass to tell Kyle." teased Fred

DeMar rolled his eyes playfully. "Get your Drake-lookin ass outa here!"

He walked around, saying hi to everyone, then wandered out to find Kyle.

He walked down the hallway, and turned to an empty area.

That's when he saw someone.

This person was sitting in the floor, their back against the wall. Their shoulders were heaving as it looked like they were crying.

DeMar instantly recognized who it was.

Kyle.

He ran up to him, worry tightening his chest. He stopped, hovering over him.

"Kyle?"

DeMar watched Kyle look up, and his heart broke when he saw the look in his face.

Demar crouched down so he was eye level with Kyle.

"Kyle, talk to me."

Kyle just sniffled, and launched himself into DeMar's arms, knocking the breath out of him and hugging him so tightly.

DeMar hugged him back, leaning his back against the wall so he could fully support Kyle. He heard Kyle start to sob, and felt his tears soak into his shirt. His heart broke listening to Kyle.

"Kyle, what's wrong? Talk to me."

Silence.

"Kyle, please. I'm here to help you. Talk to me." DeMar whispered softly.

Kyle pulled away, and looked at DeMar.

"I hate myself." he choked out, and tightly closed his eyes.

DeMar felt his heart break again. He ran his hand on Kyle's face. "Why?"

Kyle opened his eyes. "Because."

"Why?"

"I'm not the same, DeMar. I don't feel the same. Ever since the trade, I felt like I lost a piece of myself. I distanced myself from like everyone. I shut so many people out. Until you came in. Then everything was fine. Then...." he trailed off, letting out another sob.

DeMar just pulled Kyle back into his embrace.

"Go on." he murmured gently, encouraging Kyle to continue.

"Then...then you know how there were rumours and stuff about Toronto trading people? Yeah, well I overheard the management team talking about possible trades and..."

"Mhm"

"And...and they were saying how they might trade me because I wasn't being a good teammate, or liking the organization, or...or...or in my words a fucking dumbass who can't control their fucking emotions or insecurities!" Kyle choked out, his voice hoarse.

If DeMar's heart hasn't broke yet, it definitely shattered right now. He knew that Kyle was insecure about himself, and had so many people betray him, but he didn't know it was going to be like this.

"So then I started to go to the gym more, put some more work in. And now that JV and CJ and DWright got traded, I keep thinking that it was my fault that they were traded!"

"And why do you think that?"

"Because! They traded away loyal players, who don't start acting like a dumbass when something they don't like happens. Maybe I should have been traded, look at me now! I'm a fucking mess!"

"Kyle look at me."

Kyle looked up.

DeMar sighed softly. "Don't keep beating you self up about this. It's not your fault. I don't want you to keep blaming yourself."

Kyle just sighed. "I'm sorry. I just can't help it!"

"I know, I know. But you have to. You have a job to do. You guys are playing fantastic this year as a team. I know that you guys have a great shot to win the east." DeMar paused, making sure that Kyle was understanding. Kyle just nodded.

"You have to keep fighting. Your a fighter. I know you can do this. Win this for you. Everything you do is for you. And if that doesn't motivate you, win this for us."

Kyle nodded, and buried himself back into DeMar. DeMar just wrapped his arms around Kyle, whispering comforting words.

"I'm sorry." He heard Kyle whisper.

DeMar sighed softly. "It's okay Kyle. Don't keep blaming yourself."

They sat in silence, with Kyle's breathing became a bit more even.

"I love you." Kyle whispered, breaking the silence.

DeMar kissed the top of his head. "I love you too Kyle."

"You will pull through this. I know you will. You always will"

"Win it for you."

"If that doesn't motivate you,"

"Win it for us."


	15. Home

_"It's a funny thing_   
_Coming home._   
_Nothing changes._   
_Everything looks the same,_   
_Feels the same_   
_Even smells the same._   
_You realize_   
_What's changed is_   
_You."_

* * *

Kyle was excited.

The Raptors were facing the Spurs tomorrow.

It was DeMar's grand return home.

He was also kind of anxious to see how the crowd would react. He really didn't want them to boo.

But at the same time, whenever Vince Carter came back, they would cheer and give him a standing ovation. And Vince has left on bad terms.

They also cheered whenever other former players came back, like Chris Bosh (before he retired).

And he hoped that they wouldn't boo Jakob at all too.

He texted DeMar, wondering where he was.

  
-

**Kyle**

where are you?

**DeMar**

we are heading to the ovo centre.

**Kyle**

okay, wanna come over after?

**DeMar**

aight, bet. i will come over for dinner.

**Kyle**

okay. love you.

**DeMar**

love you too

* * *

DeMar sat in the bus with LaMarcus. It was early in the morning, and they were heading to the OVO Practice Centre. He was staring out the window, looking at the city. He knew exactly where they were, which roads they were on.

He felt a pang of homesickness. He had lived in this city for 9 years.

And it was home.

Sure, the winters were pretty shitty.

And the hassle of traveling international was annoying.

But it was home.

"DeMar? You okay?" LaMarcus snapped him out of thoughts.

"Yeah, I just didn't realize how much I missed this city."

LaMarcus gave him a small smile. "Bet you didn't really like the winter here though."

DeMar laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty terrible. Freezing my ass off every year."

Someone decided to put music on (he thinkA it was Rudy) and the rest of the ride was filled with horrible singing and laughter.

* * *

As DeMar walked off the bus, he was met with the crisp cold air of the winter. Pulling his hoodie over his head, he headed inside with the rest of the team.

Usually they would practice at the arena, but the Raptors were there so they had to come here.

He walked inside, knowing exactly where he was going. Without even realizing it, he had fell in lead, and was leading everyone. Jakob was beside him, knowing exactly where he was going too.

As they pushed through the doors, he couldn't help but look around. It was the same yet different. They had put up new banners of the roster around the gym from media day.

He went straight to the benches (well, more like a big ledge) and put his stuff down. He always went to this bench. It was his spot.

He turned and saw Jakob putting down his stuff in his old spot.

LaMarcus and Rudy sat next to him.

Rummaging through his bag, he grabbed his shoes, and threw them on the ground.

As he was getting ready, he heard Pop calling his name.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where all the equipment is?"

DeMar pointed to a door. "Yeah, it's over there. But we need a key to get in."

Pop nodded his head, then frowned. He opened his mouth to say something, the sound of someone opening the door cut him off.

DeMar craned his neck to see who was coming in. He smiled, as he recognized who it was.

It was Scott McCullough, the Raptors head athletic trainer.

Scott came over to the benches. "Sorry guys. I totally forgot that you guys needed to practice here.

Pop nodded. "It's fine." He put his hand out. "Popovich."

Scott smiled. "Scott McCullough, head athletic trainer."

He lead them over to the equipment room, and unlocked it. "There you go! It's all yours."

"Thank you."

DeMar wandered over to where Scott was, who was fiddling with the keys. "Hey Scotty!"

Scott looked up. "Oh hi DeMar!"

DeMar gave Scott a big hug. He had a great relationship with Scott. Scott was like a wise mentor to him.

"How have you been kid?" Scott asked.

"I'm good."

"How's San Antonio? Probably having better weather." Scott added with a laugh.

DeMar smiled. "It's good. And it does have better weather."

Jakob came over, and the three of them had a great conversation, and caught up with Scott.

"DeMar! Jakob! We are staring!"

DeMar looked at Scott. "Sorry, we gotta go."

Scott smiled. "Yes of course. See you two tomorrow."

DeMar and Jakob said their goodbyes, and gave him one last hug, before Pop starting yelling them to get their asses to training.

* * *

DeMar hopped out of the car. He looked around smiling.

He was at Kyle's house.

Heading up the steps, he rummaged through his pockets, and grabbed his keys. He had a key to Kyle's house.

Unlocking the door, he walked in. "Baby? It's me!"

He took of his coat, and hung it in the closet. As he was doing that, he heard footsteps running up to him. Turning around, he was almost knocked over. Laughing, he hugged Kyle back, and rested his chin on his head.

"Hi." mumbled Kyle into his chest.

DeMar chuckled. "Hi. You know, this is such a great greeting. It makes me feel so special."

Kyle looked up at him, grinning. "I'm just that amazing."

DeMar playfully rolled his eyes. Following Kyle inside, he noticed that the house was clean, but still kind of messy. He stopped to just look around. Kyle's place felt like home.

"Deebo? You coming?" He heard Kyle calling from the living room.

Shaking his head, he wandered into the living room. He smiled, seeing Kyle in the living room, fiddling with the tv. Sneaking up on him, he hugged him from behind, feel Kyle slightly jump. He kissed his cheek.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I broke the tv a couple days ago." Kyle frowned, still fiddling with the remote.

"It's okay." DeMar said, grabbing the remote. "We can have conversations just like normal people."

Kyle pouted. "Are you saying I'm not normal?"

DeMar shrugged, smirking. "I mean, you and your stupid ass somehow broke your tv so."

Kyle laughed. "Good point. And I'm not that stupid."

DeMar raised his eyebrows. "Okay, I will let you believe what you wanna believe."

Kyle just rolled his eyes, and went into the kitchen. Laughing, DeMar sat on the couch. He sighed, looking out the window. It started to snow really hard, and DeMar could see the snow hitting the window.

"You okay?" Kyle asked, walking into the living and leaning into the frame.

"Yeah." DeMar said, starting longingly out the window. He turned to Kyle. "I didn't think I would miss the snow as much as I did."

"Oh, like the warm sunny Texas weather is bad." joked Kyle. DeMar just smiled, and looked out the window again. He heard Kyle walk back into the kitchen. DeMar scrolled through his phone.

He was scrolling through his photo, and found one photo that he liked.

It was Kyle.

DeMar had taken a picture of Kyle, sleeping on his chest when they were in San Antonio.

Kyle would hate this photo.

But DeMar thought it was really cute.

"Your dinner is served monsieur." Kyle announced, placing the plate on the coffee dinner. DeMar shut his phone off. He would tease Kyle about it later.

The two had a great conversation, filled with laughter, memories, and a lot of teasing (or DeMar thought as it was more like flirting)

"Are you excited for tomorrow's game? I am!" asked Kyle, stacking the plates on the table.

DeMar shrugged. "I am. But I'm also kind of nervous."

Kyle turned his head. "Huh?"

DeMar sighed, and avoided Kyle's eyes. "You know. When Kawhi and Danny came back, Kawhi was booed. What if that happens to me?"

DeMar felt ashamed of himself. He knew that he shouldn't be worried about this, but ever since it happened to Kawhi, he couldn't keep think about it. Like Kawhi did so much for San Antonio. He won a championship and was the finals MVP for gods sake! DeMar didn't do anything that great when he was in Toronto.

"DeMar look at me."

DeMar looked up, and felt himself get lost in Kyle's big brown eyes.

"You poured you heart and soul into this team for 9 years. You lead us to many playoffs, and helped make this team worth coming too. You know just as well as I do that Toronto's fans are very very grateful. I know they are going to do something special. I know it."

DeMar smiled, then pulled Kyle into a hug. He felt Kyle shift in his arms, and hugged him back tightly.

"Thank you." DeMar whispered.

Kyle pulled back, smiling. "Trust me, you will be greeted like, like, like, oh I don't know. Give me a word so I can sound smart!"

DeMar laughed. "Like I'm a hero?"

This time Kyle laughed. "Nah, thats way to corny."

"Oh! I wanted to show you something,"

DeMar pulled out his phone, ignoring Kyle's curious face. He hid the phone from him. "No looking!"

"Okay okay!" Kyle put his hands over his eyes.

DeMar smirked, and popped the photo up. "Okay look!"

The look on Kyle's face was priceless, and DeMar starting laughing.

"Delete that right now!"

"Why? It's so cute."

"No it's not! Delete it!"

Kyle reached over to grab the phone, but missed as DeMar pulled away. Laughing, DeMar stood up and stretched his arm up, laughing as Kyle looked up and pouted.

"Seriously?"

"Yup." DeMar couldn't stop laughing as Kyle tried to jump and grab it.

Kyle had caught DeMar off guard, as he pushed him onto the couch to try to grab it. DeMar pushed Kyle off, then pinned him down. He threw his phone onto the other couch, and leaned towards Kyle, who no matter what he did to try to break free, couldn't.

DeMar leaned towards Kyle, and looked into his eyes. Kyle's eyes were twinkling with laughter. DeMar couldn't help think how perfect he was.

"DeMar?"

Without thinking, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Kyle's lips.

He immediately pulled away, his eyes wide in shock. Kyle's face mirrored the exact same reaction.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry Kyle. I wasn't thinking." DeMar stammered, a million thoughts racing through his mind.

"It's okay." Kyle looked down at his lap. "I liked it." he said shyly.

DeMar felt his heart burst in chest, filled with love for Kyle. He pulled Kyle back into his embrace, and kissed him, with so much passion and love.

They pulled away, breathless, and DeMar rested his forehead onto Kyle's. Kyle looked up at him, with love in his eyes, and DeMar's mirrored the same emotion.

"I love you DeMar." Kyle whispered.

DeMar whispered back.

"I love you too Kyle."

And at that moment,

For both of them.

It doesn't matter where they are

As long as the have each other,

They were

Home.


	16. Emotional Night

_"We are all_   
_Visitors to this time,_   
_This place._   
_We are just_   
_Passing through._   
_Our purpose here_   
_Is to observe, to learn,_   
_To grow, to love..._   
_And then we_   
_Return home."_

* * *

DeMar was bored.

He was waiting for his pre game interview to start, and was just sitting outside of the room. He sighed, looking around.

He had so many memories of this Scotiabank Arena.

He remembered his rookie year, and how he scored his first basket.

He remembered when he went into his first ever dunk contest at the all star game.

He remembered when he played in his first ever all star game.

He remembered when he and Kyle both were in the all star game, and it was in Toronto.

He remembered when this arena was called the Air Canada Center.

His name being called cut him out of his thoughts. He shock his head, and headed inside.

He went up to the podium, and sat down.

It was a pretty boring interview (aren't they all?). DeMar was just asked a bunch of short, stupid questions. He sighed inwardly.

"Are you planning to speak with him (Masai) today?"

"No, I don't plan on it. I just plan on talking to Kyle."

"What do you think it's going to be like to play against him (Kyle)?"

"I'm looking forward to it. I was - I was kinda mad at him, he knew I was mad at him, that he didn't play last game."

"What are your plans tonight, after the game?"

"I don't know, hopefully Kyle comes to bring me some food or something. I don't know."

DeMar thanked the media, then got the hell out of there. That was such an awkward interview, and the media were asking the most random questions

As DeMar was heading back to the visiting teams locker room, he was so deep in though that he didn't realize that someone else was walking down the hallway at the exact same time.

"Hey Deebo!"

DeMar smiled. "Hey P!" They hugged, and dapped each other up.

"How you doin'?" Pascal asked.

"Imma good. You ready to get your asses beat? Again?" DeMar added, laughing.

Pascal retaliated by gently punching DeMar in the shoulder. "Whatever. We ain't losing this one!" DeMar just rolled his eyes.

"You and Kyle are still good, right?" Pascal asked.

"Yeah of course! Why?" DeMar asked, confused.

Pascal shrugged. "Nah, I was just asking. When we vs'd Atlanta he seemed like, you know. Off."

DeMar nodded. "Yeah. That day he was off. But he's good, and we're good."

Pascal smiled. "That's great!"

"Pascal! C'mon!"

"Sorry, I gotta go now." Pascal apologized.  
  


"It's fine. Imma see like in a couple hours anyway." DeMar said, dapping him up one more time. As he watched Pascal walk away, he smiled, getting excited for tonight's game.

* * *

Kyle was really excited.

He was watching the fans in the crowd, and his heart was full when he saw so many fans have on DeMar's jersey. He saw many signs that said _Welcome home!_ or _Toronto misses you!_

He couldn't wait to see how the crowd would react.

He heard Herbie's voice over the PA system.

Time for the starting line ups.

_Ladies and gentlemen, here are the starting lineups for the teams, first the visiting San Antonio Spurs._

_Out of Uconn, a 6'8 forward, number 22 Rudy Gay._

_From USC a 6'7 forward number 10 DeMar DeRozan._

Cheers. There were tons of cheers.

Kyle let out a breath of relief. Everyone in the arena gave DeMar a standing ovation. He smiled, looking at DeMar. He saw DeMar looking around, and caught his gaze. DeMar smiled back, and mouthed _I love you._

Kyle smiled, and mouthed it back.

He was happy that Herbie stopped, and let the ovation keep going. All you saw was people standing up and all you could hear was clapping and whistling.

Everyone on the Raptors were standing up and clapping.

Kyle was so proud of DeMar at that moment.

And that was only the starting line ups.

He couldn't wait until DeMar's tribute video.

_From Texas, a 6'11 centre, number 12 LaMarcus Aldridge._

_From Michigan State, a 6'3 guard, number 11 Bryn Forbes._

_And from Colorado, a 6'4 guard, number 4 is Derrick White._

_Ladies and gentlemen the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs is Greg Popovich._

Kyle still couldn't believe it. Even though DeMar had been announced 2nd, the crowd was still giving him a standing ovation, right until the end of their lineups. It was crazy.  
  


Kyle smiled, watching the hype video. He loved doing the starting lineups, because it was fun just being crazy and doing all of their stupid but fun handshakes. Plus he really liked what Toronto did with their starting lineup intros. They added a fun twist to it.

_Basketball fans! Would you please welcome the starting lineup for your Toronto Raptors!_

_We got it starting in the middle, it's all about Mr Oh Oh See, from the Republic of Congo, wearing number 9, your number one shot blocka, this is Serge Ibaka, Baka, Baka!_

_Out of UNC, the money man_ _from three-point land, wearing number 14, give it up for Danny, Money, Money, Green!_

_We keep it Spicy in the forward, representing Cameroon! Wearing number 43, Spicy P, this is Pascal Siakam!_

Now it was Kyle's turn. His handshakes here very interesting to say the least. He would make the team do something, like an exercise, or something stupid, on the floor, then he would lean down and high-five them. When he got to the end, he would jump up and twist around, hitting his back against Serge's.

_He is your five time NBA all star! From North Philly, to your city, wearing number 7 at staring point guard, this is Kyle, L-l-l-l-l-l Lowry!_

_And from Californ I A, they call him the Klaw! You know who, number 2, Kawhi Leonard!_

_Head coach of your Toronto Raptors is Nick Nurse!_

The team went into the huddle, and Serge this time was leading it.

"Okay guys. As we know, it's gonna be an emotional night. Lets give one heck of a game for these fans. We also gotta get better at transitioning to d. Lets go, win on three"

"One, two, three WIN"

Kyle took off his warmup pants and his shirt. He stretched, and heading over to the scoring table. He headed out into the court, and dapped up Rudy.

Kyle headed and went to dap up everyone else. When he got to DeMar, DeMar just smiled and pulled the smaller point guard into a quick hug, then they dapped each other up.

Hearing the referee blow the whistle, it was time for tip off.

Kyle took his place beside Bryn.

The ref threw the ball up.

It was game time.

* * *

DeMar headed to the bench. Pop had just taken a time out.

Now (he thinks) the arena was going to play his tribute video.

They already did it for Jakob. It was crazy, listening to all the fans cheering during the starting lineups. It was crazy, hearing them during Jakob's tribute video.

These fans were so damn grateful.

_Please turn your attention to the video board._

DeMar's heart thumped in his chest. He tried to act nonchalant about it, but inside he was getting excited. He really wanted to see how the fans would react, and what the Raptors did.

The video played, and DeMar couldn't look away.

They showed him going to the all star game.

Showed the first time they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Showed his 52 point game.

Showed him goofing off on and off the court.

Showed him in the dunk contest.

Showed his love for where he came from, Compton California.

And they showed so many clips

Of him and Kyle.

DeMar couldn't help but smile when the clips of him and Kyle popped up. There were so many.

It felt like an eternity, just watching this video. He stood up when it came to an end, and all he heard was the cheering and clapping of the arena. It was amazing.

_Fans, please join the Toronto Raptors in thanking DeMar DeRozan, for he has done for our city, and for this team! Thank you DeMar, for nine memorable seasons!_

He felt so humbled. He was able to do so much for this team, this city, this country.

He looked over at the raptors bench. He saw them looking over at Nick Nurse.

Kyle popped his head up to look around. DeMar caught his eye and smiled.

_I told you so!_ mouthed Kyle, smiling.

DeMar nodded, and sat back down. He looked up and saw the video board still showing him. The camera cut to show Kyle, who was taking to the Raptors about what play they should do. Then it cut to show the fans clapping. They kept the standing ovation for over a minute after the video was done. They kept it up until the game started back up again.

DeMar shook his head, and headed to inbound the ball.

Time to get his head back into the game.

* * *

Score: San Antonio 117 - Raptors 116

24.9 seconds remaining.

Serge is taking his second free throw.

DeMar stood on the line, waiting for Serge to throw it.

  
"Short!" He yelled, and went up to grab the ball. He got the rebound.

Time to run the clock down.

He ran up the court, with Kawhi on him. Kawhi reached in the grab the ball, so DeMar tried to to turn the other way. He slipped, and tried to keep the ball in his possession.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kyle running up to help Kawhi. Kyle knocked it out of DeMar's hands, and into Kawhi's.

"Go!" He heard Kyle yell at Kawhi. This lead to Kawhi having a free dunk, putting the Raptors up by one.

DeMar pushed himself up, frustration boiling. How did he let that happen? He heard the whistles blow. Pop called a timeout.

He felt Kyle brush past him to get to the Raptors bench. Watching Kyle, he saw him walk over to Kawhi, where they high-fived.

DeMar headed to the referees. He thought it was a foul.

They didn't agree with him, so he went back to the bench.

15 seconds on the clock.

Spurs ball.

He was given the ball, and danced with it, Kawhi on him. He turned to drive, then passed it too Davis. Davis went and shot it, but it was short.

  
A bunch of players starting trying to get the rebound, offensive and defensive, until someone hit it out, and Kyle ran to get it.

Kyle got it, and started running down the court, and then the refs whistles blew.

They said he stepped out of bounds.

So they reviewed it, and it was pretty clear that he didn't.

That resulted into Toronto scoring.

117 - 120.

0.2 seconds on the clock.

It was a catch and shoot opportunity.

And it didn't work.

Final score

San Antonio 117 - Raptors 120

DeMar went to shake his former teammates hands.

He scanned through the mob of cameras and players for one person.

Kyle.

He ran into Serge instead.

"Good game Deebo!" Serge said, giving him a hug.

"Thanks Serge. I will talk to you later, okay?"

"Yup. I have something to ask you later." Nodding his head, DeMar went to find Kyle.

It wasn't that hard, just look for the person (either than him) that was being surrounded by cameras.

He saw Kyle, and a smile instantly came on his face.

Walking up to him, he engulfed him in a big hug, wrapping his arms around Kyle's lower back. He felt Kyle hug him back, and could hear the sudden sound of cameras clicking.

DeMar placed his hand on the back of Kyle's head, and pulled him closer. They pulled apart, and looked at each other.

"Wait for me after, okay?" Kyle asked him.

DeMae just smiled. He could never say no to Kyle. "Yeah I will. Imma actually head to your locker room, okay?"

Kyle nodded, and hugged him again. DeMar hugged him back.

As he went to the visiting locker room, he heard someone call his name.

"Deebo!"

He turned around, and smiled when Kyle was running towards him. When Kyle came beside him, he wrapped him arm around Kyle's shoulders, and pulled him closer to him.

They headed into the tunnel, and without the cameras on them, he gave Kyle a quick kiss on his head.

"Imma meet you in a couple of minutes. Just don't take to long with your slow ass okay?"  
  


Kyle pouted. "Hey! I'm not that slow!"

DeMar just shook his head. "Okay buddy, whatever you think."

Kyle just stuck his tongue out. Catching DeMar off guard, he stretched and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "See ya later Deebo."

DeMar just smiled, and watched Kyle head into the locker room.

Still smiling, he headed to the visiting locker rooms.

"What are you smiling about? We just lost." asked Rudy, who was already sitting down.

DeMar just shook his head. "Nothing."

Because even though he lost.

He felt on top of the world again.

Why?

Because he has Kyle Lowry.


End file.
